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Different Types of Waxes


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So as I mentioned  in my introduction, Im getting into the candle manufacturing business and I have equipment capable of making 500+ candles an hour. I dont know what kind of wax I have but I would love to explain its properties and I have a lot of it. SO it came in a 50lb bag, and its white and its easy to squeeze, It cools into a nice smooth finish almost 100% of the time and I have to use a good amount of fragrance to get the scent out, maybe like (1/2oz frag for 4oz of wax) the burn time is long.  I have a feeling its paraffin wax but I dont know. 

 

Also I would like to know whats the most effective wax for container candles and the best for scented ones.

I would love to ship out free samples to all so they can try out my finished product and spread my name. feel free to comment your responses , thank you

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Hey Rami this is my best advice.

 

Slow down I know you want to rush everything. Candle making is exciting. If you rush to fast you end up wasting time and money. A lot of us have done that.

 

We can not tell what kind of wax you have  with out manufacture name and some possible number or a name of the wax. Honestly you may never know what kind it is so it is pointless to test with it. If you are just making candles for your self that would be fine but you want to turn thins in to a business and you need to know exactly what you are working with so you can repeat your results.

 

Go to Peak Candle supply, Candle Science or Bitter Creek and get a kit. The kit will have exactly what kind of wax is in it. Exactly what kind of wick and FO. So you will be able to repeat your candle. That will also give you everything you need to make a successful candle

 

Successful candle making is part science, part art and part experience.

 

 

 

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Welcome Rami!

I agree with Vicky. As exciting as candlemaking is, it takes a lot of testing to get a great candle every single time. The variables are so varied, from jar size to wick size to fragrance brand etc. The fact that you have to use 1/2 oz of fragrance to 4 oz of wax is reason enough to stop now and begin testing with known ingredients. Most of us use 1 oz of fragrance to 16 oz of wax. Some may use a tad more for some scents, but 2 oz of fragrance per pound is NOT standard. More does not equal better.

Kits are a great way to start, but so is researching the different kinds of waxes and seeing which one will suit your needs/image the best. Without taking the time to learn about the process and properly test each candle combo for quality, the name you put out there for yourself may not be a good one. Enjoy the journey!

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Thanks for the advice, I found out that I had paraffin wax, and I am familiar with candle science, I ordered a lot of dyes and fragrances to test them out with the wax I had. I also ordered a bunch of the 3 oz votive glass containers, so here's another question. Let's say I heat wax melter to 180 degrees, I pour it into my 16 oz measuring cup, if I mix my scent with the wax directly from the measuring cup will it still be effective ? The wax is still clear after I mix the scent too. My wax is from Cali wax. 

 

Now 1oz frag to 1lb wax, would that generate a strong smell to fill up a whole room? The candles I made so far work, they do smell good, but I just feel like the smell isn't strong enough. Are scented candles supposed to have a strong scent ?

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Rami

first off,  welcome 

 

I am not understanding why your working with a wax that you don't even know what it is....how are you going to buy more to continue testing? At this beginning stage of the game your just wasting money time and materials 

not all paraffin waxes are the same so if your thinking you can just buy another paraffin and do the same thing and get the same results you have been that's very very wrong 

I just saw you said Cali wax (sorry) - never heard of it myself and I looked it up and I am not sure this is a candle wax but I could be wrong 

my suggestion is buy a wax from Candlescience and test test test it - your not going to be producing 500 candles a hour for a very long time - I'm not trying to be rude or negative just honest 

there is a lot involved in making safe quality candles and expect to spend a lot of money doing so 

The fact that your asking how to mix your fragrance says you need to slow down and read the many many threads on here that have wonderful advice and suggestions to get started 

as far as fragrance load.....that's subjective everyone uses different amounts and no 2 people get the same results doing exactly the same thing which is why extensive testing is needed -you will need  insurance as well when you do start selling 

we are here to help answer your questions but none of us will do the work for you- your going to have to test different FO loads, wicks, heat temps, pour temps and see what your liking and looking for in a candle 

search the forum for threads that many beginners have asked questions- I still go back and reference them and I am 8 to 9 years into this 

again welcome and have fun with this but be realistic - it's going to take a very long time to produce quality safe candles and it's worth it when you achieve that

 

 

Edited by moonshine
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Guest OldGlory

I think you can learn a lot by reading all the old threads in the General Candlemaking section. There's a wealth of information, conversations about preferred waxes, the wicking, dyes, fragrance load, etc. That's where you can find the some thoughts about your question of 'which is the most effective container wax'. Of course, we all have our own idea of what's the best!

 

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Ok, you have lots of 50 pound bags of wax? The bag has no kind of identification on it? Who told you the wax is a paraffin (blend?) from a company called Cali? You have bought machinery to make 500 container candles an hour, so did you purchase a business from someone? You are talking about using 2 ounces of fragrance oil per pound of wax and that is a lot of cost per pound IMHO, that is approximately 12.5% load? Do you have any prior experience making candles? Do you have insurance?  Do you use people to test your product? Have you invested a lot of money and or other people's money in this venture? Lots of questions huh? You need to hire an individual to advise you in setting this up right from the start, and it wouldn't hurt to get a lab analysis of your wax. This is not the type of business that you dive into blindly but requires professional understanding of all the components that go into making a safe product. Otherwise, you open yourself to law suit city and hurt other legitimate candle makers.

Edited by chuck_35550
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Yeah you guys are right, I need to also just buy my own wax, see the wax and machines were donated to me by my cousin who owns starbuzz Tabacco, Starbuzz was doing a candle line but they stopped a couple years ago. My other cousin asked my owner of starbuzz cousin for the machines and he said okay. I'll try and contact the vendor to find out what kind of wax it is before I continue using it. Thanks for all your responses all these answers should save me a lot of time and trials. 

 

And I have a lot of fragrance and dye comming in from candle science so I should probably find out exactly what kind of paraffin wax I have. 

 

But some candle companies when you open the candle the smell is really strong, is this because they wipe a drop of fragrance on the top of the candles? Or their mix is just so on point that the smell comes out strong in the wax.

Edited by Rami
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This is because they have a staff of chemists and formulators who understand how to mix different notes of fragrance and to create a system that efficiently and consistently produces  a certain result. Yes, there are those companies who place a bit of fragrance on top. If you got the machines donated and have a lot of fragrance oils, dyes, wicks, warning labels, jars, lids and jar labels coming; hire someone to walk you through it.

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A good candle will smell strong without having to cheat and cause safety issues putting drops of oil on the top- not a smart thing to do IMO 

 

the goal in candle making is to make a good burning candle that is safe and looks and smells good- all done by tons of trial and error and testing- I honestly wouldn't waste your time with that wax even though it was donated - find one from Candlescience whether it be paraffin or soy and dive into testing - this way you know you can readily get it

maybe use that stuff for melts to use it up 

 

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20 minutes ago, chuck_35550 said:

You do know that Cali wax is marijuana wax?

Lol dabs... Okay anyways I have a shipment that should be comming in tomorrow , I'm getting a bunch of 3 oz containers and fragrances and dyes, so I'll make a post in a couple days asking if anyone wants me to ship out some free samples so you guys can let me know what you think . The more feed back the better , thanks. 

 

 

And I talked to my cousin we are gonna have one of the old employees to teach us their process, maybe, I would rather trial and error for my own sense of effort and originality

 

 

oh!! And the wax company was calwax not Cali wax lol sorry 

Edited by Rami
Cal wax not Cali wax
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Coconut wax is good and bad most people use it to blend with soy or paraffin. On it own it hard to burn and does not throw well. I also know a lot of the lotion candles used coconut wax. I would keep it as an additive for later when you start blending your own mix.  

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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is cracking down in California on a potent marijuana product called “wax,” according to ABC News. Wax is legal—and popular—in Colorado.

Wax is a distillation of marijuana said to be so potent that a single hit will keep a person high for more than a day, the article notes. A person making wax uses the flammable substance butane to strip out the THC, the chemical in marijuana that causes a high.

“There is no weed out there that possesses the punching power that the wax does,” an anonymous undercover DEA informant told ABC News’ “Nightline.” “And it’s like smoking 20 joints of the best grade of weed that you have into one hit of the wax.”

Gary Hill of the DEA’s San Diego office said, “We have seen people have an onset of psychosis and even brain damage from that exposure to that high concentration of THC. Our concern is that this is going to spread before we get it under control.”

In Colorado, wax is legal for anyone over the age of 21. It is sold in recreational marijuana dispensaries. A three-day contest called the X-Cup, held in Denver, is designed to determine who can make the most potent batch of wax.

 

Hence the name in California is Caliwax.

 

Vicky has the right of it on coconut wax. Have you got any of those candles to burn?

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